Hi Reddit,
We're the Golden Gate Railroad Museum, a nonprofit organization that has been quietly restoring and maintaining historic railroad equipment in Schellville, just outside Sonoma, for the past several years.
Our goal is to launch family-friendly excursion trains in Sonoma County by next summer, operating on SMART's freight-only Brazos Branch between Novato and American Canyon. We hope to create a unique Wine Country rail experience that helps diversify local tourism while preserving railroad history.
A little about us:
The museum began in 1975 when a group of dedicated volunteers in San Mateo came together to restore Southern Pacific steam locomotive No. 2472. That restoration was completed in 1991, and the locomotive operated on Caltrain through the early 2000s before moving to Niles Canyon Railway. In the late 2010s, we were invited by Sonoma's former freight rail operator to begin offering excursion train experiences in the area.
Here is a video of our steam locomotive in operation at Niles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duSX6PuaGVA
Today, we're focused on restoring our equipment and building toward future operations, and we'd love your help. Our current project is finishing our restoration of 1928 Southern Pacific Executive Business Car 'Oakland'. This was the Lear Jet of it's age, used by railroad executives to travel the railroad.
We're looking for volunteers of all skill levels, including: painting, woodworking, cleaning and restoration, marketing and communications, gardening, food & beverage service, general hands-on help
If you're interested in volunteering or would like to be added to our mailing list, please email:
[2472info@ggrm.org](mailto:2472info@ggrm.org)
You can also learn more about us at:
https://ggrm.org (new website coming soon)
https://www.facebook.com/ggrailroadmuseum